


Tis the Season to be XCOM (WotC Odd RP logs season 2)

by OddXCOMarchive



Series: WotC Odd RP Soldier Logs season 2 logs and roleplays [2]
Category: XCOM (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 20:19:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14172639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OddXCOMarchive/pseuds/OddXCOMarchive
Summary: (Note: This log, and most submissions on this account, is collaborative work about the Christmas Feast that took place on December 25th and is a direct spin off the mission logs linked below. These logs represent what has happen during the feast from a characters perspective, so accuracy might not be 100%, since every character has a distinct personality, and leaving off certain aspects can show what that specific character is about.)(The Link to the main logs is here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13837005/chapters/31822158)This Document was created and edited by Rodats. (Alex “Rodats” Deathscope.))





	Tis the Season to be XCOM (WotC Odd RP logs season 2)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [WotC Odd RP Soldier Logs season 2](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13837005) by [OddXCOMarchive](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OddXCOMarchive/pseuds/OddXCOMarchive). 



**(Commander Odd)**  
Good evening soldiers. I do not often like to mix with the barracks as it could lead to personal attachments that might sway my decision making in battle. However, this is a time of year for giving thanks, and for giving gifts. I want to recognize a few of our top soldiers with some rewards I believe they will find most valuable in times like these. Before we get to that though, I'd like to take a moment of silence for our fallen heroes....When you're at the bar drinking with your mates, remember those on the wall behind you because in some circumstances, their loss is the reason you can do so. To Castellano, or as we like to call him midnight. Most of you didn't know him, but he had heart. Short lived, but he would have been special. to our two fallen soldiers on Operation Empty Blade...Chill and Al Shegardy. Through some miracle that we are yet to understand, Vintermorgon returned from the grave, and I know she carries a piece of Bn Green in her heart. To Raven who fell on Operation Ghost Stank...your crits will be missed. To The Judge who fell on Operation Shartered Tome, your comrades miss you having their back, things haven't been the same since. And to Rumble, a bit rough around the edges, but a capable if not exemplary soldier. Lone Prophet was the mission that took you from us, and we will never forget your contributions to our success. Let the moment of silence commence....(coughs and whispers can be heard among the crowds).  
And now, I have a few gifts for a few soldiers who have really stood out over the past few months. First up....Zoey "Kohlla" Durand, please rise. (The crowd goes wild for Kohlla as she awkwardly rises from her seat). With over 100 confirmed kills, it is no doubt that your fellow comrades feel extra confident when you fight alongside them on the battlefield. Willing to put yourself in harms way to save them is an act of valor. Please accept this token of my appreciation. Do not open it until you are alone. (The commander hands her a small gold box, seemingly unopenable...she's unsure of what to do with it exactly, but she decides to follow the instructions of the commander and wait until after the dinner to find some alone time and figure it out). Next, her bondmate, as is probably no surprise... Major Will Billyterror Blazkivitz, always protecting your mates from the backlines, always giving snide remarks (but I know they come from a place of thanks and lovingness for your commander). Your no bullshit attitude on the battlefield is awe inspiring. Please accept this gift as a token of my appreciation. (the commander hands him a box similar to the one he gave to kohlla, again with the instruction not to open until he is alone. This box however, is silver in color and has a laser etching on the outside of his rifle).  
And last, but certainly not least, I would like to recognize....Homer Warder Obsquros...(the crowd looks around, seemingly baffled that he isn’t here, until they realized that I was addressing ROV-R to his gremlin, since he was on a covert op). Homer, you have worked incredibly hard to be here. Only I, as the commander, know what you have done to make it this far. Not a single time did I hear you complain about the tasks you needed to to to make it into this squad. It is that attitude that has earned you this gift as a token of my appreciation. (The commander shows him a platinum sphere and whispers to him "when the time is right, the sphere will reveal itself to you", and had one of the staff send it to his room. The crowd gives a round of applause and although confused, are genuinely happy for those who were recognized. ) I want to say thanks to everyone else as well. Without your individual contributions, we would have pushed back the alien forces as much as we have. Each of you is a valuable member to the team. Each of you regularly supports your fellow mates. And each of you have had a tangible impact on our war against the advent, the aliens, and the chosen. With that, I will leave you to enjoy the rest of your night. Oh, and one last thing, can someone go and tighten Julian's screws once and a while? That big oaf has had a few problems recently and we need him in top top shape. Good night everyone.

 

 **(Alex “Rodats” DeathScope)  
** Reapers Log: 32.5  
December 25, 2035.  
Operation: N/A  
Usually I don’t write logs more than once, but this is very special occasion, since it’s Christmas. Thanks to my supreme hunting skills, and the help of ROV-R, we managed to grab quite a bit of supplies for the feast I plan to prepare. I woke up, had some breakfast, and immediately went into the Kitchen with my huge stockpile of meat. I spent hours, upon hours of getting everything ready. By the time dinner has arrived, and the gang is here, I managed to prepare the last set of duck meat. Everyone was sitting at 1 table, with Zoey and Will obviously next to each other. The skirmishers did the same thing they did, and the rest happen to sit from highest to lowest rank, with Lily, Tygan, Bradford, and Odd himself at the far end of the table, and myself at the other side, where I was hoarding the meat from those who were trying to selfishly grab a few bites before the servings were passed around.

The first toast that was passed around came from Will. He talked about how all of us was contributing to the war against Advent, and how we all were as equal, no matter who we were beforehand, and where we stand in ranks today. He then gave everyone a cheers, and the feast has officially begun. I passed around the main courses throughout the table. We had duck roasts, turkey, fried, roasted, and grilled chicken, Fried crocodile eggs and meat, and last but not least, pork. No beef unfortunately, since you really can’t find cattle out here in australia, and I don’t think Lily likes beef anyway. At least I snuck in some chrysalid meat in the roster. I lied and told them that it was chicken, as I watched their reaction when they had a portion to see what they thought of it. We also had some vegetables as well, and a whole bunch of other unique delights that we got. If I went into details for all of them, then this log would become too long to read, so i’ll leave it as that for now.

In case you haven’t noticed already, I was the main server, and Barton helped out with cutting the meat. At first she used her gauntlets, but after slicing through the plate the meat was laying on, it was best to use the biggest knife we had instead to avoid casualties to both physical and artificial bodies. It must’ve took more than an hour for everyone to become stuffed as the food they were eating, either that or they were having a hard time determining what kind of main course they should stick with. I personally took a liking to most of the meat I managed to prepare for this glorious feast, so I basically had the leftovers when it came to the main course.

Once we had our dinner, it was time to open up the presents. Will has given Zoey this strange Jewel that looked like a topaz that I can swear has psionic energy inside of it. How Will has gotten a hold of this jewel, is another story that I have yet to find out.

Tygan not surprisingly, got advent burgers from someone from the resistance named, “Jebediah” who was a communications officer. I laughed internally when I saw Lily and Bradford roll their eyes at Tygans reaction to his gift. It was like he received something sacred form an other-worldly source. Then again, he had that same expression when I gave him my extra advent burger after the only covert op I will ever do. (I swear if odds assigns me another one again, I should start calling myself Homer)

Bradford received a sweater, though it wasn’t made of wool. He accepted it. He wasn’t overjoyed like Tygan was with his advent burger, but accepted it nonetheless. Nothing else to talk about from there.

Lily got herself some new tools from the engineering staff. As if she hasn’t have enough tools. Well I guess I was wrong, because some of the screwdrivers that they gave her must’ve not been makeshifted, and more likely maintained for more than 20 long years. She thanked the engineering staff about this wonderful gift.

When everyone was done giving out their gifts, Odd has raised himself and has given a speech to everyone about our progress in the fight against Advent. He also had some gifts to give as well:

he gave Zoey this Golden box containing an unknown item inside. Though she didn’t open it during the rest of the gathering, due to odd instructing her not to do that.

Will received the same thing Zoey got as well, instructed not to open it until the gathering was over.

Homer was put on the spotlight by odd, congratulating him for not giving a damn about those times he has gone on his covert op missions. He has gave him this sphere-like object, as Odd whispers Homer something to his ear.

He then gave his congratulations to all of us, while bugging Lily that she should go fix up Julian's bolts because he seems to be out of date recently. For some reason, i’m not surprised that odd didn’t give his thanks to the people who prepared this glorious feast for him and the other soldiers.

Once the gifting was over, we wished each other a merry Christmas and all of those festive greetings. I only gave mine personally to Zoey, Natalya, Will, and Lily. I just nodded with a smile to the rest who greeted me that way. With the Christmas dinner over, I went back to the kitchen, and helped the hired chefs to clean up the mess. I was the one who led the cooking after all. For those who might end up reading this, while it might not Christmas for you, it is for me, so I give you my festive greetings, from another time.  
-Rodats, Out.

-End Of Log.

 **(Julian)  
** Xcom live recording  
Log number: XMAS  
The day began as two others had begun, with the AI known as Julian waking in the computer system of the Avenger and going through the list of updates his tendrils in the computers fed him from the database. The first update mattering the most as it noted that his body had been rebuilt and he should upload as soon as possible. Doing so however was not the most pleasant experience since upon the processes completion he found himself not where he had well, left himself. Now in the avengers main eating quarters, the spark body found himself donned in merry green paint with rags placed around his arms and legs in spiral patterns and upon his head lay a beautiful crystal of elerium carved into the shape of a star and welded into place for the moment so as not to fall off. His limbs were also immobile. His first reaction was the expected one.  
WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
Inside my own head  
Four. Four times. I know my body is intact but I still count this as the fourth time I've had to suffer the desecration of my physical form and quite something of a supposed “first mission back”. Not that there is much that I can do about it. From what I can see from my position at the head of the table (not that I can move my limbs let alone partake if I wanted to) the fleshlings are indulging in a ritual they call “Christmas” I have read about it in the data Father had left me. But due to the war I see little to be merry about, though that could be the psychotic rage at the desecration of my body talking. They sit at the table ahead of me, talking, feasting, exchanging small items and cheering as though it's the happiest time on earth despite the war. As much as its primitive and altogether useless, it's a strangely calming thing to witness. For now ill be stuck here awhile. May as well take in the scene.  
Bah humbug? Or is it happy holidays, I dont know which  
-Julian.

 **(ROV-R) (A gremlin)**  
DISPLAY LOG - (ROV-R)  
<1505:33 15.12.2035> Motor: OFF  
<1505:34 15.12.2035> SILENT MODE  
<1513:02 15.12.2035> 2 targets within range.  
<1513:41 15.12.2035> 0 targets within range.  
<1521:12 15.12.2035> 5 targets within range.  
<1525:36 15.12.2035> 8 targets within range.  
<1530:11 15.12.2035> 11 targets, 1 non-target [Domestic Cat] within range.  
<1532:42 15.12.2035> 0 targets, 1 non-target [Domestic Cat] within range.  
<1541:29 15.12.2035> 0 targets in range.  
<1545:03 15.12.2035> 4 targets in range.  
<1549:34 15.12.2035> 7 targets in range.  
<1552:50 15.12.2035> 10 targets in range.  
<1554:07 15.12.2035> 12 targets in range.  
Target density threshold reached.  
<1552:50 15.12.2035> CAPACITOR DISCHARGE  
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*  
*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/*\\*/  
<1552:53 15.12.2035> !PING Administrator LILY SHEN  
<1552:54 15.12.2035> Motor: ON  
<1552:55 15.12.2035> Sound: ON  
<1553:10 15.12.2035> Scanning…  
12/12 targets [Spot-billed Duck] confirmed killed.  
<1555:30 15.12.2035> Infobase search: Christmas duck recipes

(Jebediah Primm)  
War recount Christmas  
This isn’t really official but I thought I’d do it anyway and add it to the list of recounts. We had a Christmas feast hunted and prepared by Rodats and boy am I glad there was no Chryssalid “meat” involved. There was a real interesting start when Scarlett cut the meat initially using her blades which surprisingly went through the plate and most of the table.The food was good, no beef but what are you gonna do. A little into the dinner toasts were delivered most notably by BJ, it was all about how we are all equal and it doesn’t matter who we were before. It was a nice speech and got me and many others ready for the feast. I didn’t give a speech wasn’t my type of thing but when presents were being cycled around I did give Tygan some Advent burgers. It’s a long and funny story how I got them but not one that needs telling. I only left my first name for the tag since I didn’t feel like getting grief from any one who doesn’t trust the burgers. Both BJ and Kohlla gave presents to each other BJ giving her a small necklace with a gem that faintly glew and Kohlla got him a gun which he jokingly aimed around the table, he was the only one who thought that was a good joke. None of the bigot brigade that's been going around the Avenger caused any problems since both the Commander and Bradford were at the head of the table. It was a nice distraction from everything that's been happening and a nice stress reliever. I mingled a little and talked to some people, mostly non combat personnel though I’m not the greatest with the actual soldiers. It was fun and I hope the next Christmas we all have will be out from under the control of Advent and their masters. This dinner gave hope is what it did, a nice healthy dose of it.  
Signing out  
Jebediah Primm

**(Stepan “Kebab” Evtushenko)  
** 25 Dec 2035  
Stepan ‘Kebab’ Evtushenko’s log  
I’ve never had the habit of making logs like a lot of the more senior soldiers do. Besides, I haven’t been on missions for a while now since Commander recruited Tau and Pineapple. I’ve done my part…fought and bled and nearly died for XCOM…now it’s up to two much more skilled Grenadiers and Doc to see us through. So I told Vags … that’s what I like to call Hunter ‘Vagabond’ Peterson…that I don’t have much to say, but he insisted and handed me his datapad. He has a point. If that UFO chasing us catches up tomorrow, any or all of us could be killed. Might as well try leaving something behind, yeah?  
We celebrated Christmas today. I can’t even remember when I’ve last sat down for a feast like this. God...it must have been before the invasion. More than twenty years ago. On days like this I don’t feel I deserve their company either…even if I’m forced to admit I’ve flirted with a few or fifteen. Can’t blame a man for wanting to get laid before the aliens melt us all into goo, right? Hehehe... Sorry Vags.  
But not today. All I could think of was the ones who haven’t lived to see the end of this year. Raven, Shegardy, Judge, Midnight and Rumble are gone for good – nobody is expecting another miracle like Chill’s return.  
I saw Richter die in those tunnels. From what I know of him, he was a survivor who had been through the loss of his comrades, only to be the one dying that mission. I’m not religious, but I hope they’re together again now.  
I tried to bury my thoughts and help with the table setting. Rodats and the various staff who scrounged or hunted a lavish feast for us looked like they needed extra hands and it kept me busy. That’s when Vagabond tapped me on the shoulder and asked me what was wrong. The guy would be stoic and perceptive enough to be a Templar, if he had psionic ability. So I told him. Turns out, he misses Shegardy too – the pair had started in XCOM more or less the same time; only for the sniper to literally fall dead in front of him. We also found that we have quite a bit in common – long isolation and uncertainty over our survival has made us socially awkward. He tells horribly tasteless jokes to push away people he doesn’t know how to address, and I pretend to be a promiscuous slut. Most of all, we both needed to give ourselves permission to grieve.  
Between the platters of meat and potatoes, we lit a central arrangement of five candles in a floral wreath, one for each of the fallen; positioned on the table in front of their portraits on the wall. Over a few drinks, we probably talked more than any of the others have ever heard from us. If we both survive this war, we’re going to need to do some soul-searching over what to do next; maybe go travelling together for a while. Hunter, if I die first, promise me you’ll adopt another dog and go visit the ruins of Chenobyl back in Ukraine. I think you’ll enjoy it, just stay away from the big orange radiation signs ok? And if you go first, I promise I will visit the Canadian Rockies and light a candle with the Reapers in your memory.  
But it would be a lonely trip without you, so please try not to die. 

**(Zoey “Kholla” Durand)**  
In recent days on the Avenger, Zoey Durand had become something of a recluse. Sure, she had spent a lot of her time in the infirmary, but outside of that she still wasn’t often seen. Since losing Rumble she had been taking time to grieve, alone in her quarters, and after being mind controlled, she mostly tried to avoid mobs of the Avenger support staff who had things to say to her that were less than pleasant. A few punches had been thrown here and there, some by said staff and the others by Zoey herself, and following that it became her goal to avoid such happening again. But even a master of psionics and melee combat such as herself couldn’t escape being pulled into Christmas festivities, especially with such a lively and enthusiastic bondmate. 

Sitting at the table, the Templar had eaten quietly, listening to the speeches but not giving one of her own. But once again through Will’s intervention, she couldn’t stay unnoticed forever. Once the feast had mostly ended, the Sharpshooter had turned to her, grin wide across his scarred face. In truth she had seen this moment coming from a mile away, but that didn’t mean she was ready for it. As he reached into a bag, Zoey prepared herself for the cheesiest gift she predicted that money (or more likely, theft or self-craftsmanship) could obtain. Seeing Will outstretch his hand with the yellow box, Kohlla deftly worked her way through the ribbon and wrapping, being careful as she did so. Now she braced for impact, but soon found that there wasn’t one. Inside of the box, was a glimmering crystal, threaded through a chain with a letter off to the side. 

Taking the topaz in hand, Zoey clutched it tight as the psionic energy within radiated outwards. She felt the emotion within much in the same way she felt the emotion of living beings, and the hope that was emitted by the crystal was enough to forge a small smile on the stoic Templar’s face. In her other hand, she held the card, briefly reading it over, her smile intact. In fact, said smile grew slightly as she finished reading the card, at which point she looked to her bondmate and gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. Granted, it was a punch from a woman who was in peak physical condition, killed aliens for a living by punching them with wrist-swords, and had also chose to punch him with her robot arm, but it was still playful nonetheless. “Sentimental idiot.” Zoey chuckled to him, shaking her head mockingly, though of course not intending to be rude. “You extracted emotion to put it into this gem? Well, I guess you put in a lot more effort than I did.” 

The Templar snaked her right arm, her organic one, down to her waist, and slipped it under her right skirt flap. A moment later, she drew her hand back into view, though this time she was clutching an object in her hand. It was bright yellow, with black lines running diagonally across it. The object wasn’t wrapped, though it did have a nice red bow, sloppily tied around it though the way it had been tied showed that Zoey had tried to do her best. As she now held it out to Blazkivitz, the truth of what the gift was became clear. It was a plasma pistol, but not just any plasma pistol. It had been coated with a custom paintjob, the aforementioned yellow and black one, in addition to multiple engravings. Most of said engravings were decorative shapes and patterns, bearing very angular designs. Though, there were a few that stood out - words. The first were “Vigilo Confido”, the XCOM motto, but carved into the other side of the barrel was something else - “Together as One”. 

Kohlla handed the weapon to her partner, and as he took it in hand the sharpshooter would find that it bore a minor trace of psionic energy, as it was just enough to influence the subconscious mind of a non-psionic being such as Blazkivitz. It emitted a sense of admiration, not a romantic one, but rather one of camaraderie. Much unlike the psionics within the gift that Will had given to Zoey, the imprint was unintentional, which meant Kohlla hadn’t put it there on purpose, but rather she had crafted the weapon with such passion that some of it rubbed off - which had a lot to say about her respect for Will and their partnership. “Merry Christmas, Will.” She smiled, placing the necklace around her neck and tucking the crystal under her armour.

 **(Will “BillyTerror” Blazkivitz)**  
Will Blazkivitz attended the Christmas feast on the Avenger and like the morale booster he was, once everyone got to the table he proposed a toast to everyone that fought in this war against ADVENT and their Alien scum masters. He gave a little speech as the Sharpshooter told various exploits he had seen first hand and how each of everyone here was contributing to a righteous cause. He stated that wasn't one for sounding high and mighty like some damn prophet but he knew one thing, their leader that weighed all the choices this organisation was no Alien God that led a conquest against the stars taking whatever they wanted. Their Commander was a man, a human just like any of them, it didn't matter if you born within wealth or a street urchin, nor did it matter if were former ADVENT or had access to powers that bent reality. At this table they stand as one race, the Human race and they take back their home kicking the invaders for staying at their home without paying rent! With that, he gave everyone a cheer and drank his drink in one go before starting the feast with everyone.  
After some merry feasting and banter, the scarred man turns to his partner before calling out to her. The Sharpshooter reaches into a bag revealing an item and presented it to Zoey stating “Here, a gift fit for a kickass partner. Hope you like it.” It was a present wrapped with yellow paper and a purple cloth used as a makeshift ribbon, once opened the contents of the item would be a sight to behold.  
Inside was a shining polished topaz the size of a human palm on a silver chain, most likely liberated from some ADVENT supporter's home or something like that. Though the topaz had something strange about it, a faint trace of psionic energy emanated from it as the core hid a slight swirl of the energy Kohlla or Scarlet would use, to the normal eye it looked pretty but to someone of psionic potential the energy meant something else, it emitted an emotion, a strong feeling of hope. With the shiny object was a letter with text written on it, it says;  
“Hey, bet your questioning where I got this, how it's like this and why? Well, stole it from an arsehole he doesn't deserve it, I had help from Scarlet and... Well, honestly, you are a huge reason why I'm still here, I didn't expect to stay more than two, maybe three months. Normally I'd be driven off by the chain of command but you Zoey make it all tolerable. I've grown to truly respect what you mean to not only your people, not only XCOM, our friends, but also to me. What I'm trying to say is... You complete me. We're two sides of a badass coin and I wouldn't have it any other way, Zoey. You are my light in the darkness and I hope this piece of me will always stay with you giving you the same feeling of hope you give to me.

Merry Christmas partner, love, your awesome teammate, Will Blazkivitz aka THE Billy-Terror.

 

P.S – Scarlet had to use her powers to extract my emotion as I focused on that one, it fucking hurt like hell but as cheesy as this sounds, totally worth it.”

After receiving a playful punch from his bond mate and her calling him “sentimental idiot” to which chuckled back, watching Zoey smile he had been told she too had gotten a gift and to him, it wasn't any less special. He watched as his partner presented the Sharpshooter a custom painted plasma pistol in that nice yellow and black scheme wrapped with a red bow. While some may say it wasn't the best wrapping to him that didn't mean a damn thing as it's the thought that counts and he could see his partner put some serious thought into.

Will gently took the weapon and looked at it while feeling, strange, not bad strange but good strange as this weapon of Alien slaying, gave him a sense of... Trust and friendship as corny as that said in his head but right now he didn't give a damn. He inspected the weapon and found two carvings, 'Vigilo Confido' on one side and 'Together as One' on the other. His thoughts were broken as he heard “Merry Christmas” before turning to spy his Templar partner putting on the necklace he gave her all while still smiling. He smiled back before replying “Merry Christmas” as well.

**(Jenny “The Admiral” Fleet.)  
Personal Log #16, Major Jenny Fleet - December 25, 2035**

Merry Christmas! I think a lot of people here have made it a point to celebrate some sort of seasonal holiday here, with ADVENT clamping down on that stuff in the cities. This year we get to spend Christmas day gloriously scanning for a lead on Intel over what used to be Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan.

This evening we had Christmas dinner. The doctors told me not to overeat due to my injury, but c'mon, it's Christmas. And Rodats has been able to procure us some real food to eat as well. I think everyone at the table made sure that he didn't sneak some Chryssalid dish onto the table with everything else, though. BJ made a rousing toast before dinner which got a big cheer from everyone.

Dinner was a variety of foul meats, including ducks, turkey, and chicken. There was some wild boar caught in Australia as well as a variety of vegetables (just give me the entire bowl of mashed potatoes, please). Reaper started slicing things up with her gauntlets, but that ended when she ended up slicing through the meat AND the plates on the table and ended up splatting me with meat in the resulting devastation, as I was sitting directly across from her at the table.

I sat between Vintermorgon and my new infirmary-mate, Numbers and tried chatting it up with them, a bit, although I think Numbers was perhaps a bit more talkative than Chill was... Rodats offered me some crocodile eggs and while I was happy to each pretty much everything else there, I rather passed on that one.

BJ also gave a really awesome gift to Kohlla: a necklace with a huge topaz, which anymore is a real find, especially since it seemed to give off a faint glow. I'm not sure anyone at the dinner table dare ask where he found it. In return she gave BJ a specially decorated laser pistol. Also, apparently one of the support staff apparently gave Tygan some ADVENT burgers. I think I could FEEL Bradford's scowl from where I was sitting.

After the main gift giving, Numbers, Huntsman, Agent, and I gave our "gift" to the group together as we got our four GREMLINs to do some Christmas carol music. Each one was responsible for emulating a certain set of instruments. It was a bit synthesized as one would expect, but I think it ended up turning out a lot better than expected. I was half fearing it'd just turn into a room full of loud and obnoxious buzzing or something.

After that, I had to report back to the infirmary with Numbers and the multitude of other soldiers who are still under medical observation. I'm sitting here with a stomach ache, foolishly ignoring the 

 

 **(Collux)**  
Collux was racking his brains. He needed to get something good enough for Colonel Durand to respect him, but not enough to be cheesy and he thought he had just the thing. He had found an old, dual picture frame which had been left in an empty house in old China Town on his last mission in the ruins of Edmonton. At the time he had thought it was beautiful and maybe it might have a place in his quarters so he could remember his late friend Major Diego “Rumble” Ramirez and his current friend Second Engineer Officer Damon Nights.

The frame itself was small and made out of bronze. It had been fashioned into two ornate Chinese style dragons chasing each other, in a shape similar to an Ouroboros, making a sideways figure-of-eight. Each dragon’s eyes were depicted by small gems. The one on the right, which was slightly bigger had deep blue eyes. The other dragon, on the left, was smaller, but had bigger, bright yellow eyes. He didn’t know if the gems were worth anything, but they looked amazing when light was shone into them.

After much thought and deliberation, he believed that he would “gift” this to Kohlla with a picture of her and of Diego in each of the picture frames. He was able to get the pictures after a little bit of hassle from the XCom admin department, which meant he ran a few favours for them, but he was finally able to get a hold of pictures of both of them and a small, beat up cardboard box that the frame barely fitted into. He polished the bronze frame, placed the pictures in the frames, making sure not to make a fingerprint on the glass front of the frame, and wrapped it up with some string. “That will do, right?” He thought to himself.

A day or so later it was the 25th of December and during early evening, after spending the day field stripping his weapons and cleaning them, cleaning his room and his armour and making sure his room and gear were ready should it needed to be used at a moment’s notice. Damon knocked on his door at about 17:00 hours with Ana, whom had apparently promised Damon that she’d act like a “normal” Gremlin. Making sure he picked up his present for Colonel Durand, they roamed around the Avenger for a while, not really sure where they were supposed to go for this meal Lieutenant Dethscope had promised the whole ship.

Unsurprisingly it was in the mess hall, which had been Collux’s first guess, but Damon insisted in trying the bar, the bridge and the hanger deck before going there. A lot of people had already sat down and Collux and Damon were just in time for Major Blazkivitz’s speech. Collux had noticed that all the other soldiers had sat near the Major, including Kohlla. There were no seats left at that end of the table so they decided to sit with the other engineers instead, some of which were colleagues of Damon. After the speeches had finished, the Reaper Lieutenant rolled out the food. There were so many different types of meat and in so many different styles Collux was overwhelmed. He had never had such exotic meats before and he thought it a little too much. He enjoyed the roast duck the most, especially when it was accompanied by a dark brown, deeply sweet and sticky sauce that Damon had called “Hoisin sauce” and apparently it is now seen as a rare commodity.

After nearly an hour of feasting there were people “gifting”. So, this is what it was. A little like a medal ceremony, but instead of earning or awarding these gifts like they did in Advent, people gave to others a little piece of themselves, usually in object form. Collux had thought that his gift was rather appropriate. He saw Kohlla and Major Balzkivitz exchange gifts, and it made him think. “Maybe I should have given Damon something.” and “Would Major Ramirez have given me a gift if he had been alive for this?” He noticed that Damon had been offering drinks around, but getting no takers from his dark, green offering he pours more into Collux’s and his own glasses. After a few words they drank to each other’s health and decided together, with a rather subdued dispute, in the form of screen text, from Ana. She still didn’t seem to trust Collux yet, but upon hearing about “The Skirmishers” splinter faction she seemed to care less and less about there being Advent soldiers near Damon.

People started to leave the mess hall after a few hours of, they still had a planet to fight for after all. Damon got up as if to leave, Collux looked over towards the Soldiers end of the table noticing that Colonel Kohlla and Major “Billy-Terror” were still sitting around Collux thought it best to approach the Colonel later and walked Damon back to his quarters. Collux returned to the Mess Hall to find a few people milling around. Kohlla was sat in the same seat she’d been sitting in for the whole evening, but the Major had left, although laughter suggested that he’d not gone far. He approached Kohlla and pulled up a chair.

“I heard you say something to Major Blazkivitz when you exchanged gifts earlier. I assume it’s a cultural thing to do. So, Merry Kris-Mas, Colonel. I hope this gift is adequate for the occasion.” Collux gave her the small, beaten up, old box tied up with string.

(Damon “Darkest” Nights)  
Alright, so I’m going a little out of my comfort zone, I’m going to a party. But first, I have to pick up Collux. I’m going to bring Ana, I mean VLP-N along. She agreed to pretend to be a normal GREMLIN, we’re hoping this will be enough to avoid drawing attention, but enough about that, that’s not what I’m here for. Lucky me, the nurse and the doctor were out drinking instead of tending to their patients, so getting Collux out was easy. We didn’t know where we were supposed to go, so we wondered around the Avenger for bit, before stumbling across everyone in the mess hall. I’m afraid to say we made it a bit late, during the the beginning of some toasting. We quickly found some empty seats near the end of the table, and tried to sit down without interrupting the speeches. Blazkivitz gave a pretty great one about how we were all equal, it was pretty great. The feast itself was pretty interesting. Apparently all the meat that was served and hunted by Rodats, hell, I think he even cooked most of it. The drink selection was a bit bare, so I was glad I brought some of that stuff Collux always brings over. I poured us out some, and offered it to everyone around us, but they took one whiff of it and decided it wasn’t for them. Their loss. I tried some different meals which I’ve never had before, and I must admit, they were pretty damn good.  
The feasting went on for a bit, but when things started settling down, people began handing out gifts. There were a few highlights. Blazkivitz gave Kohlla some a necklace embedded with a psionic infused topaz, which is pretty freaking awesome! Kohlla in return gave him a custom pistol. Uhm, who else gave gifts? Oh yeah! The Comms Officer gave Tygan some Advent burgers, no idea how he got those, but Tygan seemed to appreciate it. Collux and I considered our shared drink was a gift enough. But I did have something else to give away. It wasn’t anything too special, it was just a copy of Ana’s work that Collux was able to recover. I spent the rest of the party talking and drinking with Collux, and a few of the other support staff. I can’t really believe I’m saying this, but I actually enjoyed myself.

 

**Editor's note: I give my thanks to those who have participated in this huge collab:  
** (Note: All of these names are from the Discord.)  
BloodReaper, SuggestiveArtifacts, Ulti, Damon, Midnight The Traveler, FleetAdmiralJ, Jebediah Jimm,  
And last and most certainly not least… 

**ChristopherOdd!**

**If it wasn’t for these people, then this wouldn’t be possible. Happy Holidays from the Avenger!**


End file.
